The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center
EMBA students often tackle complex challenges within their own organizations. At Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, the new Executive MBA aims to create space for students to expand the scope of problems they can solve. It’s one thing to tackle problems inside your own company, but its a completely different thing to do this outside of your organization.
Through immersive experiences beyond the classroom, Carey students will step outside their comfort zones and experience how leaders across industries, cultures, and time zones are approaching their challenges. They’ll get a firsthand look at how organizations around the world are navigating tough decisions in an increasingly uncertain global environment.
Hopkins Bloomberg Center Classroom, courtesy photo
Two signature experiences are a major part of this: Carey’s Global Immersion and the Executive Field Project.
“These are two of the biggest elements of the EMBA program when it comes to experiential learning,” says David Smith, EMBA academic program director at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
THE GLOBAL IMMERSION EXPERIENCE
The new Carey Executive MBA will welcome its first students this fall. As the cohort takes shape, school leaders are getting an early look at how the program is coming together in practice.
In the Global Immersion, which kicks off six months into the 19-month program, students will spend a week in London.
“This experience is designed to take the class out of the classroom and into the real world to see what kinds of challenges business leaders are facing today across many sectors and industries,” Smith says.
Throughout the immersion, executive MBAs will meet with leaders across industries gaining firsthand insight on how organizations weigh uncertainty, opportunity, and responsibility in today’s global marketplace.
“In our world, things move quickly and the global immersion is really designed for students to see just how interconnected our world really is,” Smith says.
“We want to arm our students with the skills and knowledge to apply themselves in different settings,” he says. “Part of that is putting them in contexts where they are out of their element and teaching them how to become more agile and adaptable.”
For many executives, stepping into a different global context can shift how they think about leadership itself. Sheila Mahony, director of executive MBA programs at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, has been working closely with partners in London as the program prepares for its inaugural cohort.
THE EXECUTIVE FIELD PROJECT
In the second year, students shift from observation to action with the Executive Field Project. Over eight weeks, they’ll step into the role of executive consultants, working directly with partner organizations on real challenges those companies are actively addressing.
“This is the next experience where we really push our students to step outside of their current leadership roles,” Mahony explains.
The interior of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C.
As part of the project, EMBAs will spend three days onsite with their assigned company, gaining firsthand insight into the organization and the decisions its leaders are making.
The project represents a pivotal moment in the curriculum, Smith says.
“This experience will give students a chance to explore business in a way that’s unique to them,” he says. “They won’t be working with their real employer and company – and it may not even be in their industry.”
Becoming familiar with unfamiliar challenges is central to the program’s leadership philosophy. Executives are often deeply immersed in their own industries, and stepping into a new organizational environment pushes them to think differently about how problems are defined and solved.
THE POWER OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS CAREY COMMUNITY
Beyond the experiential aspects, part of the appeal for executives will be access to the broader Johns Hopkins University community.
“I think one of the most exciting parts about coming to Carey is our ecosystem,” Mahony says. “We have a name that carries some weight and, because of that, we are grateful to be able to have access to some rooms and bigger name professionals that not everyone has access to.”
Carey leaders say the emphasis will be on practical learning that translates directly to the workplace.
“That’s the goal – for EMBAs to show up to work on Monday with the ability to immediately apply what they’re learning,” Mahony says. “Lightbulb moments can often happen when professionals step away from daily routines and have the space and guidance to reflect on their company’s challenges.”
DON’T MISS INTRODUCING THE BRAND NEW JOHNS HOPKINS CAREY EMBA AND WHY PROFESSIONALS ARE CHOOSING JOHNS HOPKINS CAREY’S EMBA
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